Affectionate Prediction

In December 1981 I had been a disciple for a little over one year, and I came to New York to see Guru before he went on the Christmas trip. At the function the night before Guru's departure, Guru had small groups of five or six disciples come to the back of the hall and stand in front of him in his private room. Guru then blessed each person on the head with his hand and said something nice like, "I am very pleased with you, I am very proud of you." At that time my main concerns in life were basically two things: to become a good disciple and to get my spiritual name. I had been longing for a proper name since childhood, so the longing had become quite intense over the years. When Guru came to me, the second he touched my head, I thought, "Oh my God, I am so bad. How can Guru be pleased with me? I will never get my name, never, never!" Guru backed up one or two steps and looked at me with a huge smile. Then he said very slowly and reassuringly: "You will get your name. You will get your name. You will get your name." I was caught, and I burst out laughing at my own stupidity. It took another year for me to get my spiritual name, but needless to say I never worried about it any more after Guru's most affectionate prediction.

Kanti (Cologne)